Maurice Ford on dismissal from J.O. Johnson: "I didn't see it coming." (Updated)

Maurice Ford, center, talks to his J.O. Johnson players during the Class 4A state championship game last March in Birmingham. (Hal Yeager/hyeager@al.com)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Blindsided. That's probably the best way to describe how Maurice Ford felt when he learned that he was not being retained as head basketball coach at J.O. Johnson despite leading the Jaguars to the Class 4A state championship game.

"It took me by surprise. I didn't see it coming," Ford said Monday afternoon.

Ford said he has yet to be told by Johnson or Huntsville City Schools officials that he is not the team's coach. He said he was told around June 17 that he could not travel or work with the team until meeting new principal Eric Jones, then found out through media reports last week that longtime Butler coach Jack Doss had been hired as the Jaguars' new coach.

Johnson went 22-12 last season, finished the regular season with a No. 7 ranking, and fell 28-25 to Madison County in the 4A final. The Jaguars were making their first championship game appearance since winning the 6A title in 1987 under Danny Petty.

Ford spent four years at Johnson, guiding the Jaguars to the sub-regional round in the 2011-12 and and 2010-2011 seasons.

An initial report said Ford would be transferred to a middle school, but he was unsure of his future as of Monday.

"I don't have any idea," he said. "I don't know what I'm going to do right now."

Ford came to Johnson after a 12-year run at Parker, where he led the Thundering Heard to four semifinal appearances and two state runner-up finishes (including a loss to Doss and Butler in the 2009 5A final).

A year after leaving Parker, Ford was embroiled in controversy after the former landlord of standout player Eric Bledsoe and Bledsoe's mother told the New York Times that Ford paid some of the family's rent, a violation of the Alabama High School Athletic Association's recruiting and amateur rules. A relative and family friend later claimed to have made the payments.

The New York Times story also included allegations from a college coach that Ford asked for money in exchange for Bledsoe signing with the coach's school. Ford denied both accusations, and the AHSAA did not take disciplinary action.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Updated 2:15 p.m. July 3, 2013. The original story stated that Ford found out about his dismissal June 17.